Councils to cut $100m VNI West compo deal

Four councils along the Victoria-NSW Interconnector say they have been offered access to a $100 million Social Investment Fund.

Towers up to 80m high, like those pictured, will be used to carry the 500kV VNI West transmission line.

Four Victorian councils along the Victoria-NSW Interconnector West route are broking a deal with VicGrid and the Transmission Company Victoria to gain the lion’s share of a $100m community benefit fund.

Buloke mayor Alan Getley, who heads a four-member block that includes Gannawarra, Loddon and Yarriambiack councils, first told 30 farmers of the deal at a meeting in St Arnaud earlier this month.

When asked for more detail last week, Mr Getley said there was $100m in the fund and the councils were “expecting the majority of that will go to us”.

“We’re looking at some really big stuff, because it’s a bit amount of money to come into the area,” Mr Getley said.

The councils met last Thursday to thrash out a list of priority projects, with Gannawarra mayor Garner Smith saying the group had settled on better compensation for farmers, cheaper power and community housing.

The Weekly Times understands that while a social investment fund is being established, TCV is yet to determine the total allocation, given the money will come from the private sector developer that wins the contract to build the VNI West. However the sum is understood to be a significant amount.

Northern Grampians shire was part of the block, but its deputy mayor Justine Hide announced council had decided to withdraw from the block this week, due to local farmers being “strongly opposed to the proposed VNI West transmission line”.

VFF president Brett Hosking, who attended last week’s St Arnaud meeting, said $100m equated to about “$400,000 a kilometre for councils”, across the 240km Victorian section of VNI West.

“They’re not even offering that amount to landholders,” Mr Hosking said, given the government is offering $200,000 per kilometre, dribbled out over 25 years.

“It feels as if they (VicGrid) are trying to win the support of the community with this money, when they haven’t won the support of landholders.

“It comes back to the lack of genuine engagement with the people most affected – landholders.”

While VicGrid is undertaking transmission planning, it is TCV that is overseeing development of VNI West.

TCV, which is owned by the Australian Energy Market Operator, is charged with landholder engagement and working with the developer on constructing VNI West.

TCV has already gained a transmission licence that ultimately allows it to enter and compulsorily acquire the 70m wide easements across landholders properties.

The Allan Government has confirmed legislation will be introduced later this year to transfer AEMO’s network planning functions and oversight of TCV to VicGrid.

TCV will then be sold to the VNI West developer prior to construction.